Emotional in the aftermath of his triumph as he had been brilliant in achieving it, Tiger Woods yesterday moved inexorably towards his goal of 19 major championships - one more than Jack Nicklaus - after producing a stunning final round of 67 to win the 135th Open Championship at Hoylake by two shots over Chris DiMarco. It was his 11th major victory and one of his finest; a fitting tribute, indeed, to his father, Earl Woods, who died earlier this year and to whom he dedicated the win.

"He would have been very proud of me," a tearful Woods said afterwards. "He was always on my case about thinking my way round the golf course and not letting my emotions get the better of me; to plot my way around; and that if I had to deviate from a game plan to make sure it was the right decision. He was adamant that I play like that my entire career."

His father's advice had served Woods well through the years but never more so than during four glorious days in Hoylake, where he appeared on the leaderboard early in the first round, and headed it at the end of the second and third days. He began yesterday's final 18 holes with a one-shot lead and, as any student of modern golf learns on their first day in class, Tiger never loses from that position. So it proved once again.

In the end only DiMarco among a chasing pack including the likes of Sergio García, Ernie Els and Jim Furyk offered anything approaching a worthwhile challenge. The US Ryder Cup player ran Woods close at last year's Masters, taking him all the way to a play-off. He got as close as one shot during his final round of 68 but ultimately came up short. "Hey Tiger, would you give me a little chance for once," he said as the pair crossed paths outside the scorer's hut.

Woods laughed at the outrageousness of the suggestion, although he was generous in his praise afterwards. "Chris put me under a lot of pressure. He played just beautiful golf today" he said. As for his own performance, he was elated enough to abandon his lifetime devotion to quiet understatement. "That was probably the best ball-striking week I have ever had."

Woods, who won at the Old Course of St Andrews last year, is the first player to defend his Open title since Tom Watson in 1982. He has now won three Opens and barring illness, injury or a sudden desire to pursue a career on the stage, he will win a handful more, not least because his contemporaries tend to shrivel at the crux, their talents disappearing into the black hole of Wood's presence.

At the start of the week he formulated a plan for negotiating Hoylake's tight, running links - long-irons off the tee, long-iron to the green -and stuck to it rigidly throughout, even when he found himself as much as 50 yards behind his playing partners on some holes. On a course like this control, not distance is what counts and, as the old golfing phrase goes, Woods had his ball on a string. Over the first nine holes yesteday he had eight tap-in pars and, courtesy of the 30-foot putt that fell into the centre of the cup at the par-five 8th hole, an eagle.

Woods's strategy also required the chasing pack to crumble in the face of this steadily-ratcheting pressure. They had done numerous times in the past and they did so here, none more so than García who stepped on to the first tee one shot behind his playing partner and staggered off the 10th green eight shots adrift.

In between times, the Spaniard produced a putting display that unkind souls might say matched his outfit for the day; pure yellow. To his credit he holed an eight-footer on the 1st green for a par, but thereafter it was painful to watch him fidget and shirk over anything longer than two feet. Two three-putts on the 2nd and 3rd holes ended any hopes he had of winning his first major championship.

It was similar story for Ernie Els, whose run of four steady pars at the start of his round held promise of better things to come. The illusion lasted as long as it took the South African to play the 8th hole, where he hit his approach into a greenside bunker and could only make a bogey five.

That left DiMarco, the dogged American with the mongrel swing. After dropping a shot on the 1st hole, hauled himself back into contention with birdies on the 6th, 10th and 13th holes that lifted him to within one shot of Woods.

Anyone else in the field might have winced at the sight of a charging adversary, especially one as pugnacious as DiMarco. Woods, who has never been one to shirk a challenge, simply looked up at the scoreboard, took note of his compatriot's heroics, and produced some heroics of his own. Two stunning approach shots, at the 14th and 15th, got their just reward as he birdied both holes to extend his lead again.

From there on in it was simply a question of avoiding mistakes over the concluding three holes; a simple task for Woods given flawless play over the 69 that had gone before.

Ever the perfectionist, he might look back on the six-foot putt his missed on the last to equal his own Open Championship scoring record of 19-under par. Then again, he might not. "This jug will be filled up," he said, nodding at the R&A's prized trophy. With Claret? "With a beverage of my choice. And not just once."